Oxfordshire: Leading hotel Eynsham Hall goes on the market

Specialist agents have been appointed to market for sale Eynsham Hall, one of Oxfordshire’s leading country house hotels at the gateway to the Cotswolds.

Located in the heartland of Oxfordshire, the Grade II Listed property is set in extensive grounds and is close to the historic university city of Oxford, the Cotswolds, Blenheim Palace and Bicester Village.

The site of a significant home since the early 1700s, the current Hall was rebuilt in 1908 and was designed by renowned architect Sir Ernest George, who specialised in creating stately homes influenced by the Elizabethan and Jacobean eras.

Currently there are 135 guest bedrooms across the site in addition to an extensive range of conference/meeting rooms and leisure facilities including a swimming pool, sauna, tennis court and fitness studios. Planning consent has been granted for a significant development to add 80 guest bedrooms, purpose-built conference facilities with capacity of 250, as well as a new spa and swimming pool complex with direct access to the main Hall.

Richard Upton, co founder of Cathedral Group plc, acquired Eynsham Hall in 2005 and has recently invested over £3 million in an extensive refurbishment programme. The main Hall has been totally refurbished and now boasts luxury bedrooms, and a new brasserie.  Some of the accommodation in the grounds and conference facilities have also been refurbished. Eynsham Hall has since won a number of hotel industry awards including for weddings and interior design.

The interior design of Eynsham Hall has been carefully considered, mindful of its history. The comfortable country house feel is juxtaposed with an extraordinary art collection melding traditional and contemporary pieces. Banksy, Gavin Turk, Sir Peter Blake and Cornelia Parker are just some of the eminent artists whose works grace the walls of Eynsham Hall.

Owner of Cathedral Group, Richard Upton, merged the property company with publicly quoted property company Development Securities plc in 2014, now rebranded as U+I. The hotel portfolio was not part of the sale and Richard is now disposing of this asset to focus his role as deputy chief executive of U+I.

Upton commented: “We have taken Eynsham Hall to a new level of turnover and profitability but there is still a lot more potential for this magnificent hotel. Sadly, I am not in a position to dedicate the time to take Eynsham Hall to the next stage. This is a fantastic opportunity for an investor to acquire a gem of a property run by an extraordinary team.”

On behalf of the joint agents, Christie & Co and Nick Sweeney, Jeremy Jones, director at Christie & Co added: “Eynsham Hall offers a great opportunity to acquire an extensive site with the benefit of planning permission to extend the site and build revenue further. We anticipate strong levels of interest from a range of domestic and overseas operators and investors.”